There were a host of other future stars that Cleveland brought with them to this
ballpark including 3x All-Star Sean Casey (5 HR, .361) whose best season came in
1999 for Cincinnati when he hit 42 2B, 25 HR, 99 RBI's and batted .332. Marco
Scutaro (24 2B, 11 HR, .273, 21 SB) would become a future MLB All-Star and slugger
Richie Sexson set this place on fire in 1997 slamming 31 HR (.260) before
becoming a 45 HR, 125 RBI, .272 hitter nearly twice for the Milwaukee Brewers putting
up nearly identical numbers in 2001 and 2003. On the mound... future All-Stars
included Danny Graves who posted a 4-3-19 Sv, 1.48 record as a closer here
in Buffalo before becoming a 2 time All-Star closer for Cincinnati saving 41
games in 2004 and who could forget the infamous Bartolo Colon (7-1, 2.22) who
would go on to take over the all time Major League lead in wins for a Latin American
player... and perhaps being one of the most fun players to watch in what
would be a 20+ year Major League career including 4 All-Star appearances and a
21 win season in 2005 which earned him a Cy Young Award. With that ... the Bisons
switched over to the International League as the need for 3 different Triple-A
leagues to keep the teams "tighter together and save on a team's gas-travel
budget" wasn't as important any longer (they would soon regret that decision).
With Buffalo being more closely affiliated with the "Eastern Side of the United
States", the Bisons were back in the International League again. With that Buffalo would "re-up" with Cleveland putting forth a Player Development
Contract that would keep the Indians Triple-A organization here in Buffalo
for a decade more for a grand total of 14 straight seasons. |